Black knight as a strategic choice? Causes and modes of Russia’s support to the authoritarianism in Southern Caucasus
Despite recurring elections and the transition to multiparty systems, authoritarianism has re-emerged in
the Post-Soviet Space. Along with domestic factors, the external dimension should also be considered to
fully understand this regional trend. Scholars depict Russia as a typical ‘black knight’ for democracy.
While most of the literature deals with the Kremlin’s policies in the ‘new’ Eastern Europe, this article
pays attention to Russia’s actions in the relatively understudied Southern Caucasus. Specifically, it investigates